How's yalls week been, this week has been one to write in journals. If you just want to know why look at the pictures I'm sending you, the funny part is we were only able to teach 3 lessons.
So the story starts last Monday, since that was the last time I got to write to everyone. Last Monday night we had a family home evening at a members house. It was a good old fashioned FHE, with a short lesson, and a lot of games (that's how they do the FHE's here in the Philippines), After that we came home and went to bed, it was raining at the time we went to bed, but nothing to worry about.
We woke up the next day, and it was still raining. It was actually raining really hard, and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The ap's came to hopefully work with us and move some elders out of our house. There used to be 3 areas living in our house, the elders in Ward 1, and then us in ward 4 and branch 8, but they split our area and put some new elders over there, so we found a house for the Ward 1 elders and kicked them out. We moved them into their new house and it was pouring rain, and the wind was blowing supper hard. Everything worked out okay with the move, they got into their house.
Later that day President Martino texted us and told us to tell the zone to stay inside 'cause of Typhoon Pedring. So we texted all the zone and told them to stay inside. At about 6 at night the sisters texted us and told us that their house was flooding. We asked if they wanted us to come over, and they said yes, so we got the couple missionary, Elder and Sister chase to take us over. We made it about 1/2 way in their care, and then the water got too deep on the road to go. So Elder Burog and I got out and had to walk about 1/2 a mile through water up to our calf, or waist depending on where we were. While we were doing this it was raining really hard, so we got really wet, and it was at night, and 'cause of the flood there was no lights. Well after a while we made it to the sisters house. We got there, and there was no flood out side, but inside there was about 4 inches of water. The said they wanted to sleep at the chases house, so they grabbed their stuff and we walked out, back through the flood. ON the way out Elder Chase called us to tell us that he was going to take Sister chase back to house, to make more room in the car. After a while Sister chase called back to tell us they couldn't make it through the flood, and that it had started to flood at their house, and at our house (they're pretty close).
We continued our hike through the flood and made it to the highway, where the stake president picked us up and took us to the church. Then Elder Burog and I and Elder Chase went to our house. The stake president drove us as close as he could, and then we walked back. We first went to Elder Chase's house. As we were walking there I lost my flip flop in the flood. (the water was moving really fast), so I ran about 100 yards trying catch the thing. We finally made it to their house, and the water was about up to mid calf. We turned off stuff, and then grabbed some stuff, then hiked to our house. The water was really deep outside our house, to your waist. We then walked in and water rushed in. Luckily the door in the front had been holding the water back a little, making it a little slower getting in. The hard part was closing it once we got inside, but we managed. Everything that was one the ground down stairs got soaked. We went there earlier 'cause we went to the sisters house, and the other elders had moved out that morning, so no one was in the house when the flood came to move stuff up. My suitcase got soaked, and all the clothes, and letters in it. Book of Mormons, or Books of Mormon, got soaked, almost one box. Liahona's and beds, and lots of stuff got wet. We moved what we could, I then grabbed my camera and started taking pictures, and we grabbed some clothes so we could sleep at the church. Inside the house the water ended up getting about to my knee, so it got pretty deep. When we left to go back to the church, the water had gotten pretty deep out side.
As we were walking back to the church, we were helping push cars, and trikes that got stuck in the flood. As I was helping a trike get through the flood, my flip flop came off again, but this time I stepped something sharp, I think it was a piece of glass, or a nail or something, but it cut my foot up pretty bad, and all this happened while I was standing in the dirtiest water you can ever think of. We were right next to a gas station, and gas was leaking into the water, then it was washing up all the water from the septic tanks and stuff. Ya it was pretty gross, anyway we walked to the church, and finally made it out of the flood.
At the church we found a place to clean up my foot. The only problem is we couldn't find anything to wrap up my foot with, so they got a clean rag, and I wrapped it up. The only problem with that is we went outside to by some food, and it got wet again, so when we got back to the church I wanted to change it, so I wouldn't have flood water on my foot. The only problem is that I didn't have anything else to bandage my foot with. Band aids wouldn't work, so this is where the story gets a little funny. The only thing we could find to bandage my foot with and keep the blood off was a pad girls use when they have a period (don't ask me what those are called). So I was walking around the church with that thing on my foot, at least it gave a laugh to all the evacuees at the church. We ended up staying the night at the church, I really didn't sleep at all,or at least not more than 30 minutes.
In the morning I went to the back of the church and took some pictures of the houses out back, we also had a meeting with the sisters and the couple missionaries, since our houses got flooded. After that we went back to the houses and cleaned them up, which was quite a job. Later that day at about 3 pm I went to take a nap, I didn't wake up until 4 am the next morning, guess I was a little tired.
The next day we had a mini transfer, so Elder Burog and I spent the whole day at the church, waiting for missionaries to get there and then tell them where to go. The new elders in ward 4 got there, and we showed them to the house. On Friday, we went to check on members, and help them if they needed it. The flood was pretty bad. Guess what happened is all the rain here, and mostly up in the mountains had caused the flooding. There's a pretty big river that runs by here, the Pampanga river, and there is one of the biggest dams here above Cabanatuan. Anyway all the gates on the dam had been opened to the max, and water was still going over the over flow, so that's why it flooded down here. We had investigators and members houses that were completely covered with water, but haven't heard of a death yet. Guess towns and cities down stream got it a loss worse than here in Cabanatuan, like one of my last areas in Cabaio.
This last Saturday another typhoon came through, so we got to stay inside again. Then on Sunday I actually meet an english guy, and talked to him for a while. Today was a pretty normal pday, except for the fact that I wrote a really long email. Anyways, sure love yall over there, still safe over here. Kinda cool that I can say I survived the flood. They said that another typhoon is coming today, so I might have another story next week. Anyways take care yall
Elder Farnsworth
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